Kay Ryan's Ledbury poem

This poem by Kay Ryan was written and performed during the 2012 Ledbury Poetry Festival to the delight of everyone who packed out the Burgage Hall to hear her read with Bill Manhire.

THE MARKET HOUSE, LEDBURY

Like the bottoms

of the great soft

feet of the elephant

the ancient posts

of the market house

shape to what they

meet.  Each foot

of the market house

cups to its hump of

anchor stone, none

of them purely flat

or round, so that

each English oak stump

took different work to

ease it down.  Like

a patient beast, the

market house has

stood and stood.  The

secret of course was

keeping rot away

from the wood.

Kay Ryan

July 11, 2012

Photo by Kay Ryan